Multitudes on Monday

1895. a successful and enjoyable first week of school for K and 3rd grade

1896. Zofran for the tiny boy who woke up and couldn't stop throwing up in the middle of the night

1897. extra changes of PJs and crib sheets

1898. towels to put in our bed after Peanut threw up again in his crib

1899. just enough patience to handle the whiny baby who doesn't feel well...for multiple days now

1890. watching Buddy-Ro fully engage in our homeschool lessons

1891. Birdie girl picking right back up with her cursive writing (which I was afraid might not be the case since she didn't practice all summer)

1892. watching the kiddos' building anticipation as Daddy works hard on completing the massive deer stand in our garage

1893. despite the fact that I haven't parked in the garage for over a week, it smells like Home Depot every time we open the door...and that's a good thing!

1894. being first in line at the Disney Store Grand Opening Celebration and watching the kiddos cut the ribbon as the store opened its doors

1895. free t-shirts for the First Princess and First Prince

1896. legs that are strong for long walks pushing a stroller...man it's hard to walk uphill when you can't use your arms!

Psalm 106:1, "Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

 

His First Haircut

I debated between cutting Peanut's hair myself or taking him somewhere and having it cut. He doesn't have all that much hair, there's not a child-friendly salon close to us, and I really didn't want to pay $16........so I decided to cut it myself. I was a tad apprehensive since I'm used to cutting Scott and Buddy-Ro's hair with clippers, but I "googled" how to cut a boy's hair and found really good instructions. And off we went to the driveway!

Peanut was very interested in what I was doing at first, but he got very squirmy. Especially when it came time to cut the hair around his ears. But all in all it went well, and his hair looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself. ;)

Before:



During:







Birdie helped me collect the baby hair and put them safely in a bag to keep.



There was one small curl in the back that was a little hard for this Mama to cut. But since it's pretty obvious P isn't going to have curly hair, off it went.



Silly boy!



After: It was a tad windy so there are a few hairs blowing, but it was much better than before!





Such a big boy!!

Everyone needs prayer

Last night we went to Chick-fil-A for supper and ran to WalMart for a laminator. As we were walking up to the front to check out we passed a lady and her daughter. The daughter had apparently been twisting one of her earrings and it fell out of her ear onto the floor and under the Back To School display. As I'm walking by, the mother says, "G-- D--it, Susanna, you stupid Mother F---er." Y'all, this little girl was 8 years old. I was in tears (am in tears right now typing this). My Birdie-girl looked up at me and said, "Mama, that mom said a bad word to her daughter." And she's thinking "stupid" was the only part that was bad. Anyway, Scott walked up to that little girl and said, "I just heard you lost an earring. Can I help you find it?" He then spent 8 minutes on the dirty floor helping find the missing earring.

1) I have an amazing husband. He looked beyond the appalling moment to see the little girl and that she needed something to make her day better.

2) We need to pray for people. I don't know what would ever possess a mother to speak to her child that way, but she's not the only one. That little girl, and so many other children, are hurting and are desperate to be loved.

I don't tell you this just so you'll have a "gosh that was awful" moment. I tell you this to encourage you to pray for people. Pray for strangers, people walking by, people who just look like they need it. We all need it, so you wouldn't waste a single prayer on anyone! If you look around at people, their eyes and their stance will tell you exactly who needs your prayers at that moment. It's so easy to get caught up in our own days. It's easy to see someone riding a bike or walking along the side of the road and think, "Well, s/he needs to get a car." But, people are hurting. People are struggling.

I encourage you to look deeper at people. Is that man who is walking along side the road dirty? Is he hot and parched? Wouldn't a prayer bless him? "Lord, please bless that man. Keep him safe on this busy road and to his destination. Father, if he doesn't know you, I pray that You will reveal Yourself to him so that his life can be changed by You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Or the lady in the check out line with three kids all pitching a fit, "Father, hold that mother's hand right now. I've been there, and it's hard. But comfort her with Your love. Help her to love her children well, even in this moment. Bless her today. In Jesus' name, Amen."

You don't have to know people to pray for them. I pray for strangers just like this all of the time. It's OK. It's not weird. We are all in need of a Savior. And we can all bless others by praying for them. Pray for people you know, and pray for those that God allows to cross your path. Lift them up to their Heavenly Father. Maybe they gave up on God a long time ago...maybe it's because of a parent speaking in the way that the mother above spoke to her daughter. God hears our prayers and can do much more than we could ever imagine. You will probably never know how your prayers were answered for the strangers you lift up. And that's OK. The point in prayer is not seeing the results, but believing that God will show His grace and mercy and love in His way. How amazing to pray for another person and open up the flood gates of God's love.

Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing.

My God is Mighty to Save. He can move the mountains.

Ephesians 3:19-20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

http://youtu.be/-08YZF87OBQ

First day of school 2013

OK, so keepin' it real here, folks. Our first day of school was r.o.u.g.h.

Not because it didn't go well, not because of bad attitudes. Nope, it was rough because the tiny one is SICK. Ugh! Y'all, I mean he had 7 (s-e-v-e-n) horrible diapers in 45 minutes. I'm talking puddles-on-the-floor-and-I'm-not-putting-him-in-another-outfit-horrible. I thought seriously about throwing in the towel 20 minutes after our school day started, but the kiddos were SO stinkin' excited about school that I couldn't miss out on it. I mean, really...how can you say no to kiddos who WANT to do school?!? In JULY!! So we pressed on - and by "we" I really mean I pressed on - with whiny baby on my hip (or on the changing table).

So, our year didn't start off the exact way the Mama wanted it to, but we still accomplished everything in the lesson plans. :) I thought about easing Birdie back into school since 3rd grade is much more intense than she's been used to, but with the encouragement from a couple of friends (thanks, Megan and Jill!) we just jumped all in.

OK, the boy is in Kindergarten but I see a 12 year old in this picture. Goodness me!



And here's Birdie starting 3rd grade at 6 3/4 years. Gifted kids are a challenge, but I'm up for it. In 3rd grade at least. ;)



My boys...with the baby showing NO signs of not feeling well.



The #1 reason I homeschool our kiddos is because I just want to be with them. This picture has my heart wrapped around it.



Kindergarten was full of letter recognition...



Concentration...



Coloring (Day and Night from the first day of Creation)...



Math (sorting by color)...



I ran around between kiddos keeping up with the naked baby between diaper changes. LOVE those little toes!! :)









And 3rd grade was full of handwriting...



Math...



Weekly Bible verse...



And Spanish with Buddy-Ro.



Birdie also had Spelling, Grammar, Geography, Science, Music, and Reading today...but I couldn't get a picture of everything. Did I mention the baby was sick?!?

All in all it was a good start to our new school year. Academically, at least! Hoping for a healthy year, ahem, with learning and lots of fun thrown int the mix. Rarely will our days be picture perfect. I know full well that there will be tears and bad days and I-can't-do-this-anymore moments. But I didn't choose to homeschool because it was the easy choice. In fact, I didn't choose it at all. God called me here, to my kiddos. If you would have told me three years ago that I'd be homeschooling my children, I would have laughed out loud. Homeschooling is for weirdos! Well, I either have to eat my words or admit that we are a weird family. :) Either way, I sure do love these faces!

Multitudes on Monday

1884. school supplies and curriculum all laid out and ready to go for our first day of School 2013-2014

1885. the baby boy's sweet first hair cut

1886. a weekend full of fun family time

1887. hearing the kiddos laugh during Despicable Me 2

1888. Jim n' Nicks' muffins with dinner after the movie

1889. Peanut enjoying the warmer water in the pool

1890. friendly mothers who keep their big kids from splashing the baby

1891. watching Peanut play in the bath tub for 10+ minutes AFTER the water has been drained

1892. Scott surprising us all with a putt-putt date today (even though I've had to forgive him b/c I didn't know to bring my camera...and I didn't even have my phone with me!)

1893. watching Birdie chase her ball around the green until it finally went in the hole

1894. hearing the kiddos say, "Thanks for taking us to play putt-putt, Daddy. That was awesome!!"

Psalm 136:1-3, "Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits. Thank the God of all gods, His love never quits. Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits."

Mighty. Mother.

I have no words, only tears.

We are mighty, because we mother. Go to battle and be not broken!

http://youtu.be/Xa-7jtvi7J4

 

Multitudes on Monday

1875. friends who give me encouragement when some days as a Mama are just plain hard

1876. extra sweet coffee on mornings when it will just make the day start off better

1877. Kashi fruit bars for the baby boy who still can't have dairy and is very limited in foods that are easy to take places

1878. rediscovering my jean jacket and finding that it's still in style

1879. spending a day at the mall and only spending money on lunch and a train ride

1880. enjoying this almost-7-year-old stage with Birdie more than any other since she was a tiny babe

1881. finally finding a snug pair of PJs that actually fit snuggly on the baby

1882. a new Hanna Anderson outlet close by with the cutest.dresses.ever. at $8 and $12 WooHoo!!!

1883. Mimi spoiling Buddy-Ro on his first over-night stay to her house

Psalm 69:30, "Let me shout God’s name with a praising song, Let me tell His greatness in a prayer of thanks."